Judge Rules General Motors Can Keep Its Bankruptcy Shield

General Motors will not have to face a number of lawsuits and as much as $10 billion in damages over a ignition-switch defect that led to the recall of 2.6 million vehicles.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber announced yesterday that the bankruptcy shield, which protects new GM from claims originating before its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring will be upheld. Now this ruling applies to a small number of suits dealing with crashes before July 2009. Most of the suits filed against GM deal with economic losses, such as diminished resale value.

Judge Gerber said people claiming economic losses may “assert otherwise viable claims against New GM for any causes of action that might exist arising solely out of New GM’s own, independent, post-acts, so long as those plaintiffs’ claims do not in any way rely on any acts or conduct by Old GM.”

GM was happy with Gerber's decision, saying "properly concluded" that claims based on old GM's conduct are barred.

Lawyers who are representing plaintiffs against GM aren't pleased with the decision.

"This ruling padlocks the courthouse doors. Hundreds of victims and their families will go to bed tonight forever deprived of justice. GM, bathing in billions, may now turn its back on the dead and injured, worry-free," said Bob Hilliard, a Texas lawyer who is representing a number of plaintiffs against GM.

User Feedback

Well, we have a G6 and this is a good heads up for me to check back in with the dealership. Last time, went in for recall repairs, they did not have a part in to fix one of the recalls. Don't even think they had figured out how to fix the problem.

So, GM glad you are so happy the judge ruled in your favor for suits before July 2009. Shame, shame. How about you get on the ball and figure out issues in a more timely manner in the future!

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Every Chevrolet Bolt that will be rolling off the assembly line will lose General Motors close to $9,000 once they are sold. This seems like madness, but according to a report from Bloomberg, there is some method to it.
Thanks to new regulations done by California Air Resources Board, automakers have to sell a certain amount of zero-emission vehicles if they want to sell other vehicles - primarily crossovers, SUVs, and trucks - in the state. These new regulations say by 2025, zero-emission vehicles need to make up 15.4 percent of the market. Since then, nine other states including New York have adopted these regulations. All told, these ten states make up 30 percent of the total U.S. auto market.
Take for example Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed a couple years back they take a hit of $14,000 on every Fiat 500e sold. But if they wanted to sell Ram pickups and Jeep SUVs in California, they need to take the hit.
How does Bloomberg get the $9,000 figure? That's due to a source at General Motors who revealed the estimate is based on the Bolt's $37,500 base price. A GM spokesman declined to comment.
If General Motors is able to sell enough Bolts, they'll be able to gather enough credits to not only sell other vehicles which will make up for the Bolt's loss, but also be able to sell extra credits to other automakers. Tesla has taken advantage of this to great effect. In the third quarter, Tesla made $139 million from selling credits.
Source: Bloomberg

Every Chevrolet Bolt that will be rolling off the assembly line will lose General Motors close to $9,000 once they are sold. This seems like madness, but according to a report from Bloomberg, there is some method to it.
Thanks to new regulations done by California Air Resources Board, automakers have to sell a certain amount of zero-emission vehicles if they want to sell other vehicles - primarily crossovers, SUVs, and trucks - in the state. These new regulations say by 2025, zero-emission vehicles need to make up 15.4 percent of the market. Since then, nine other states including New York have adopted these regulations. All told, these ten states make up 30 percent of the total U.S. auto market.
Take for example Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed a couple years back they take a hit of $14,000 on every Fiat 500e sold. But if they wanted to sell Ram pickups and Jeep SUVs in California, they need to take the hit.
How does Bloomberg get the $9,000 figure? That's due to a source at General Motors who revealed the estimate is based on the Bolt's $37,500 base price. A GM spokesman declined to comment.
If General Motors is able to sell enough Bolts, they'll be able to gather enough credits to not only sell other vehicles which will make up for the Bolt's loss, but also be able to sell extra credits to other automakers. Tesla has taken advantage of this to great effect. In the third quarter, Tesla made $139 million from selling credits.
Source: Bloomberg

As sales of compacts and sport cars begin declining, automakers are faced with tough decisions as to what in terms of production and workers. General Motors made the difficult decision to lay off 2,000 workers at two plants.
Bloomberg reports that GM will be cutting the third shift at their Lansing Grand River plant in Michigan (home to Cadillac ATS, CTS, and Chevrolet Camaro) and a shift at Lordstown, Ohio plant (home to the Chevrolet Cruze). GM spokesman Tom Wickham said the company is treating the layoffs as permanent, although some workers will be able to transfer to other plants.
The layoffs are due to sales of compact and sports cars going down due to consumers buying more crossovers. Sales of the Chevrolet Cruze dropped 20 percent through October, while the Camaro has seen a drop of 9 percent.
On the same day, General Motors announced a $900 million investment for three plants - Toledo Transmission Operations, Bedford Casting Operations in Indiana, and Lansing Grand River. Wickham said this investment would not add any new jobs.
Source: Bloomberg, General MotorsPress Release is on Page 2

General Motors today announced initiatives to strengthen and align its production output at key U.S. manufacturing operations. The plans include investing more than $900 million in three facilities — Toledo Transmission Operations in Ohio, Lansing Grand River in Michigan and Bedford Casting Operations in Indiana — to prepare the facilities for future product programs.
GM also announced plans to align production output with demand for cars built at the Lordstown, Ohio, and Lansing Grand River, Michigan, assembly plants. As the customer shift from cars to crossovers and trucks is projected to continue, GM will suspend the third shift of production at both facilities in the first quarter of 2017.

As sales of compacts and sport cars begin declining, automakers are faced with tough decisions as to what in terms of production and workers. General Motors made the difficult decision to lay off 2,000 workers at two plants.
Bloomberg reports that GM will be cutting the third shift at their Lansing Grand River plant in Michigan (home to Cadillac ATS, CTS, and Chevrolet Camaro) and a shift at Lordstown, Ohio plant (home to the Chevrolet Cruze). GM spokesman Tom Wickham said the company is treating the layoffs as permanent, although some workers will be able to transfer to other plants.
The layoffs are due to sales of compact and sports cars going down due to consumers buying more crossovers. Sales of the Chevrolet Cruze dropped 20 percent through October, while the Camaro has seen a drop of 9 percent.
On the same day, General Motors announced a $900 million investment for three plants - Toledo Transmission Operations, Bedford Casting Operations in Indiana, and Lansing Grand River. Wickham said this investment would not add any new jobs.
Source: Bloomberg, General MotorsPress Release is on Page 2

General Motors today announced initiatives to strengthen and align its production output at key U.S. manufacturing operations. The plans include investing more than $900 million in three facilities — Toledo Transmission Operations in Ohio, Lansing Grand River in Michigan and Bedford Casting Operations in Indiana — to prepare the facilities for future product programs.
GM also announced plans to align production output with demand for cars built at the Lordstown, Ohio, and Lansing Grand River, Michigan, assembly plants. As the customer shift from cars to crossovers and trucks is projected to continue, GM will suspend the third shift of production at both facilities in the first quarter of 2017.

Chevrolet and Buick Post Big Retail Sales and Share Gains Keeping GM the Fastest-Growing Full-line Automaker
Chevrolet U.S. retail sales up 6 percent for best October since 2004
Buick U.S. retail sales up 7 percent for best October since 2003
GMC sets brand’s all-time record for October ATP at $43,988
DETROIT – General Motors (NYSE: GM) sold 208,290 vehicles in October to individual or “retail” customers in the U.S., up 3 percent from last year, despite two fewer selling days. Based on initial estimates, GM outperformed the entire U.S. retail industry by a wide margin.
Led by Chevrolet and Buick, GM’s U.S. retail market share rose to its highest October level since 2009. Based on initial estimates, GM’s retail market share jumped 1.6 percentage points in October to 18.1 percent, the largest retail market share gain of any manufacturer. GM has gained retail market share in 16 of the past 19 months.
Chevrolet’s October U.S. retail sales were up 6 percent compared to last year, the brand’s best October since 2004. Buick’s October U.S. retail sales were up 7 percent, the brand’s best October since 2003.
Chevrolet gained 1.4 percentage points of U.S. retail market share in October to 12.3 percent. Chevrolet has gained U.S. retail market share in 9 out of 10 months this year, and remains the industry’s fastest-growing full-line brand. Buick gained 0.2 percentage points of retail market share in October.
In addition, GMC set an all-time October record for the brand’s ATP or Average Transaction Price of $43,988, up more than $1,800 over last October’s performance.
GM’s total U.S. sales in October were 258,626 vehicles, down less than 2 percent from last year. In addition, GM’s daily rental sales were down approximately 8,000 vehicles or about 19 percent in October compared to last year, as planned.
“GM’s October performance reflects the strength of our retail business and our operating discipline. We gained profitable retail share in October while spending less than the industry average on incentives and commanding the industry’s best average transaction prices for any full-line automaker,” said Kurt McNeil, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales operations. “We will continue our disciplined approach and focus on retail in a strong industry.”
In October, GM’s incentive spending as a percent of ATP was 11.7 percent, below the industry average of 11.8 percent.
GM’s ATPs, which reflect retail transaction prices after sales incentives, were $36,155 in October, more than $4,650 above the industry average and more than $1,000 above last October’s performance.

Through the first ten months of the year, GM retail sales are up 1 percent, compared to last year. GM has gained 0.6 percentage points of retail share during that timeframe, the largest retail share gain of any full-line automaker. Year to date, Chevrolet retail sales are up more than 2 percent and the brand’s retail share has grown 0.5 percentage points to 11.2 percent. Year to date, Buick retail deliveries have grown nearly 4 percent and Buick has gained 0.1 percentage points of retail share.
GM continues to benefit from a strong U.S. economy.
“Key fundamentals like job security, rising personal incomes, low fuel prices and low interest rates continue to provide the environment for a very healthy U.S. auto industry,” said Mustafa Mohatarem, GM’s chief economist. “The U.S. auto industry is well positioned for sales to continue at or near record levels for the foreseeable future.”
October Retail Sales and Business Highlights vs. 2015 (except as noted)

Chevrolet
Chevrolet had its best October since 2004 and best year to date sales since 2006
Chevrolet cars sales continue to grow faster than the passenger car industry
Malibu, Camaro, Corvette, Spark and Volt were up 39 percent, 14 percent, 8 percent, 5 percent and 6 percent, respectively
Malibu had its best October since 1980
Camaro had its best October since 2009
Colorado, Suburban, Tahoe and Trax were up 42 percent, 35 percent, 49 percent and 37 percent, respectively
Tahoe and Suburban had their best October since 2007
Colorado had its best October since 2004
GMC
ATPs growing three times faster than industry pace
Acadia, Canyon, Yukon XL and Yukon were up 17 percent, 15 percent, 3 percent and 26 percent, respectively
More than 25 percent Denali penetration for the brand
Sierra had its highest ATP ever at $46,876
Canyon had its best October ever
Acadia had its best October ever
Yukon had its best October since 2007 and 14th month of year-over-year growth
Yukon XL had its best October since 2007
Buick
Best October since 2003 and best year to date since 2005
LaCrosse was up 13 percent with new model off to a strong start
Envision had best month since launch
Cadillac
Escalade retail sales up year to date more than 6 percent
October ATP was a record $55,058, up more than $2,300 from last October
Record year to date ATP of $53,542
Year-to-date retail luxury market share in line with 2015 performance
Average Transaction Prices (ATP)/Incentives
GM’s ATPs, which reflect retail transaction prices after sales incentives, were $36,155 in October, more than $4,650 above the industry average in October and more than $1,000 above last October
GM’s October incentive spending as a percentage of ATP was 11.7 percent, below the industry average of 11.8 percent, but down 1.4 percentage points from last month and well below many other competitors
Fleet and Commercial
Commercial fleet up 13 percent vs. September, and up 3 percent, selling day adjusted, YOY
Malibu up 95 percent compared to last October
Mid-size trucks up 218 percent compared to last October
Federal Government sales up 53 percent
Rental down 19 percent for October, and 29 percent year to date, according to plan
Industry Sales
GM estimates that the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate (SAAR) for light vehicles in October was approximately 18.0 million units. On a calendar year-to-date basis, GM estimates the light-vehicle SAAR was 17.4 million units